A FAMILY that was robbed of three generations of females in the Omagh bomb have said they hope no other family suffers as they have.
Mary Grimes died in the atrocity on her 66th birthday, along with her daughter Avril Monaghan, 30, who was pregnant with twin daughters, and her 20-month-old daughter Maura.
The Omagh Bombing Inquiry heard tributes to them during the second day of commemorative hearings for the 29 victims of the August 15, 1998 dissident republican bomb attack.
Inquiry chairman Lord Turnbull described the multi-generational loss as something that “constitutes an incomprehensible loss” and paid tribute to their family for sharing their memories of their loved ones.
The inquiry was shown photographs of Mrs Grimes, Mrs Monaghan and little Maura – who won a “bonnie baby” competition during her short life – as well as ultrasound scan pictures of the unborn twin girls who had been named Eimear and Evelyn.
Fearghal Grimes gave evidence to the inquiry on Wednesday.
He recalled how at the inquests into the Omagh bomb, former senior coroner John Leckey said he could not recall any one family suffering such a loss in the history of the Troubles.
He described his mother Mary as a woman with a strong Catholic faith, a strong work ethic and a “deep sense of family values and she lived these out every day”.
Born in Co Cork, he said she trained to be a nurse and then a midwife before meeting his father Mick and settling together on a dairy farm in Beragh – where they had 11 children.
“No-one was ever turned away from her door and no-one left without a cup of tea or some of her beautiful current bread or apple tart,” he said.
“A modest woman all her days, our mother let her actions and her endless compassion speak for her.”
The probe, which sits at the Strule Arts Centre in the Co Tyrone town, also recalled the second youngest victim, Breda Devine, 20 months, and 16-year-old Alan Radford on Wednesday.
It was the second day in a planned four weeks of commemorative hearings for all victims as well as those impacted.
